Museum emphasizes physics, curiosity

A new partnership at the Utah Museum of Natural History aims to stimulate an essential part of scientific research — curiosity.

The museum is located on the University of Utah campus, 1390 E. Presidents Circle (200 South). For years it has held a monthly "Free Family Monday."

From 9:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. on the first Monday of every month, visitors are welcome to tour the museum and watch demonstrations without charge.

The project recently expanded its hours so the museum would remain open longer, facilitating visits to the astronomical observatory on top of the U.'s South Physics Building, also on Presidents Circle. Now the physics department has become more involved with the free day, fielding two experienced presenters, Patrick Wiggins and Tori Spratling, to carry out demonstrations about physics. Both are NASA solar system ambassadors to Utah.

The presenters will carry out a series of physics demonstrations at the museum "using liquid nitrogen, bicycle wheels, bottles, balloons," said Paolo Gondolo, associate professor of physics at the U.

Around 7:30 p.m., U. hosts will open the observatory, he added.

"We have several telescopes. The visitors can look at objects in the sky. If it's still daylight they can look at the sun through suitable filters," he added.

If visitors are at the observatory after nightfall, they can use telescopes to examine galaxies, planets and nebulae, "some of which are very, very nice," Gondolo said.

"Right now," Wiggins said, "Venus and Saturn are just absolutely glorious. Later on in the summer we'll have the king of the planets, Jupiter, booming above the eastern horizon."

Spratling said the new program is awesome. "Science is something that's fun, and we don't get to see the fun side enough."

Already offering a minor in astronomy, the U. hopes to move toward offering a major in the field. Also, it is working to acquire land in southern Utah where scientists plan to build a large telescope. One of the telescope's priorities will be to search for evidence of potentially habitable planets.

Museum director Sarah George noted that Free Family Monday is funded by Salt Lake County's Zoo, Arts and Parks program. ZAP tax money comes from a one-cent sales tax imposed on every $10 spent in the county.

"We've got a new partnership with the physics department," George said. "We do some physics demonstrations here in the museum and then everybody has the opportunity to go over and look at stars at the physics department through their telescopes."

Gondolo said the experience may make children more interested in science. Children who visit will learn about science and see it in action. He believes this will stimulate their curiosity.

"The exciting part of it," he added, "is that kids are natural scientists."

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